Orthodontic brackets are generally used in orthodontic treatments for moving one or more teeth from an initial position to a desired position in a patient's dentition. The initial position typically refers to a position at the beginning of an orthodontic treatment, for example a position in which the labial faces of the teeth are misaligned to each other, whereas in the desired position the labial faces of the same teeth may be generally aligned. For example the patient's teeth may be aligned relative to each other to provide the dentition with a more aesthetically pleasant appearance. Further one or more teeth may be moved within the dentition to compensate for a malocclusion. Such a movement of a tooth or teeth can be typically achieved by using one or more brackets attached to one or more teeth. The brackets are typically connected to an elastic archwire for applying forces to the teeth urging them toward desired positions over a longer term.
Often orthodontic brackets are off-the-shelf products which are configured for use with clinical situations of different patients. Further there are customized orthodontic brackets which are typically made to fit with an individual clinical situation of one particular patient.
For example US 2012/0015315 A1 discloses a customized orthodontic bracket system which includes a bracket having a customized bracket bonding pad for bonding the bracket to a tooth of a patient and a bracket slot adapted to receive a customized archwire. The customized archwire is adapted to be positioned in the bracket slot to form a precise bracket slot-archwire interface.
Although a variety of different brackets and bracket systems are on the market there is still a desire to provide brackets which on the one hand match an individual clinical situation and on the other hand are minimized in costs for manufacturing and costs for application to a patient's teeth. Typically the minimization of costs in the manufacturing must be balanced relative to the desired accuracy of the customized brackets. For example
brackets should be placeable easily and precisely to a patients teeth, and should have a geometry allowing an orthodontic archwire to be attached or slidably coupled precisely at desired positions relative to the teeth. Further customized brackets should be sufficiently durable over the time period of an orthodontic treatment. On the other hand available manufacturing methods for mass production of customized brackets may not be compatible with such precision and quality requirements, whereas available sufficiently precise and high quality manufacturing methods may not satisfy or fully satisfy requirements for mass production at commercially viable costs.